His widow, June Garford told the court that Mr Garford had received a £6,000 bill for business rates shortly before his death.

He had stopped her looking at his business accounts so she had no idea about the scale of his debts.

She said: “I told him we would sell the puppies he had just bought and buy a smaller house, whatever we needed to do to get the debts paid.”

Following a discussion about their finances Mr Garford went into their barn. When Mrs Garford followed she found him trying to hang himself.

He died despite both her and her neighbours’ desperate attempts to save him.

His GP, Dr Sabine Lijesen said Mr Garford had admitted to being depressed and having morbid thoughts and was given anti-depressants at his last appointment in April 2010.

Coroner Gordon Ryall recorded an open verdict. He said although there was no doubt Mr Garford had taken his own life, the fact he was more than three times over the drink drive limit meant his “judgement was affected”.